Velasquez will confront the man who dethroned him a little more
than a year ago when he locks horns with heavyweight champion
Junior dos
Santos in the
UFC 155 “Dos Santos vs. Velasquez 2” main event on Saturday at
the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Dos Santos needed all of
64 seconds to dispatch the
American Kickboxing Academy ace at UFC on Fox 1 in what was
Velasquez’s first appearance since major shoulder surgery.

Still, Velasquez does not use the layoff as a crutch, nor does he
regret accepting the bout 10 months after going under the knife --
and with good reason. He recognizes the fact that dos Santos
entered the match with an ailing knee.

“Junior was hurt, as well,” Velasquez said during a pre-fight media
call for UFC 155. “Guys get injured before the fight, so it was
just me being a fighter and not backing out. I did it, and it’s in
the past.”

Their first encounter was so brief that onlookers barely had time
to settle in. Dos Santos cracked Velasquez with a ringing right
hand behind the air, and down he went. A few more ground strikes
finished it, and a new champion was born.

“Junior’s quick, and he’s got power in his hands,” Velasquez said.
“He timed it perfectly, and he came out on top. I know how he
fights. He’s got good boxing. I’ve just got to fight my style of
fight, which means a lot of pressure and a lot of offense. I just
want to go out there and fight my fight. That’s it.”

Dos Santos has since successfully defended the title, bashing
former champion Frank Mire en route to a second-round stoppage at
UFC 146 in May. The 28-year-old now owns a perfect 9-0 mark in the
UFC. Dos Santos does not foresee changing much in terms of his
approach.

“My first game plan was to try to keep the fight standing against
him,” he said. “I think Cain is going to come in hungrier for this
fight, to try and work his game, to try and take me down and use
his ground-and-pound, which he uses very well. I’m prepared for
this fight and ready to win.

“Cain is an excellent wrestler, and he puts pressure on his
opponents all the time,” dos Santos added. “That’s what he’s going
to try to do to me. I have to be careful with that and use my
takedown defense and my boxing skills. I’m very confident I’m going
to when this. I think I’m going to knock him out again.”

Velasquez answered the doubt that comes along with an elite
fighter’s first defeat in May, when he handed former EliteXC
heavyweight champion Antonio
Silva a savage beating at UFC 146. His trademark
ground-and-pound was on full display, as he battered and bloodied
the Brazilian behemoth until referee Josh Rosenthal had seen
enough.

“It doesn’t affect me at all,” dos Santos said. “I know Cain’s
game. I watched his fights a lot, and I’ve studied him. I know his
strategy, and if he takes me down and really holds me down, I’m
ready for my first submission in the UFC.

“I’m a very confident guy,” he added. “I think it’s part of my
strength, and I will give my best to make my strategy [work] and to
follow my strategy inside the Octagon. Every fight is different
than other fights, so this fight will be different than the
last.”

Velasquez has his eye on the prize, the belt that once occupied his
waist.

“The only reason I got into this sport was to be a champion,” he
said. “Now that I’m not champion, it’s the only thing that’s on my
mind -- to go in there and win this fight. That’s all I’m thinking
about.”

Repeat or Revenge

Dave
Mandel

Belcher could be on the verge of stardom.

Alan
Belcher has momentum on his side, perhaps enough to soon
position himself for a crack at the UFC middleweight championship.
First, he must deal with Yushin
Okami.

The Japanese judoka spoiled Belcher’s promotional debut at UFC 62,
defeating the Jonesboro, Ark., native by unanimous decision at the
Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. In the six years since,
Okami has established himself as a mainstay in the middleweight
division. Belcher has had to overcome a series of obstacles,
including a career-threatening eye injury, but always hoped their
paths would cross again.

“Yushin is solid. He’s a pro, and he’s a vet,” Belcher said in his
pre-fight interview with UFC.com. “I fought him before, and I know
he’ll be tough. I lost last time, but I plan to take him out fast
this time. He doesn’t want it as bad as I do.”

A protégé of former world kickboxing champion Duke Roufus and a
Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt under Helio Soneca, Belcher has
finished his last four foes, three of them inside one round. His
tear has Okami’s attention, along with the rest of the 185-pound
weight class.

“Six years have passed since our first bout, so I expect I am going
to face a totally different fighter,” Okami said. “Now, Belcher has
built up his momentum, so it is going to be a good test for me to
fight with the top guys.”